Paul Chapman explains why Carlton, Melbourne and St Kilda are setting up for success

OF the teams that won’t be seeing finals action, PAUL CHAPMAN sees potential with Carlton, Melbourne and St Kilda, but there are some clubs he’s not so sure about.

Patrick Cripps and Dustin Martin. Picture: Colleen Petch

OF the teams that won’t be seeing finals action, Carlton, Melbourne and St Kilda are the trio that have set-up the foundations for success in the future.

And while it will finish behind the other two, Carlton has impressed me the most.

Sure, the list still requires a fair bit of tweaking but after what the Blues have achieved I am intrigued to see what will unfold.

You can see their extreme belief in the game plan of coach Brendon Bolton and his assistants, one of whom is former Geelong coach Dale Amos. His influence shouldn’t be underestimated.

And in Patrick Cripps and Jacob Weitering, they have a pair of young players who are capable of changing games, as they showed against West Coast at the MCG in Round 17.

That match said as much about Carlton as any this year, and they would have won it had they pulled the attack pin just a little bit sooner.

Importantly their supporters seem to understand the club’s direction and are being patient as they undertake a journey that could see them maybe two or three years off finals. But they are coming.

Patrick Cripps has the ability to influence a match. Picture: Michael Klein

So are the Saints, a team I love to watch as much as any when they are on. Their game style is demanding and not unlike Ross Lyon-coached teams with their manic pressure around the ball.

When they get that right, St Kilda does it better than any other side. They have had some bad games, which is typical with developing sides, and they have obvious holes up back.

But Jake Carlisle will help that enormously and I have heard they will go very hard for Michael Hurley.

I played with “Hurls” for two years at Essendon and have a lot of respect for him. If there is anything about Essendon he isn’t satisfied with, then I don’t think he will hesitate to move on.

There will obviously be no shortage of potential new homes. Melbourne is another suitor.

Watching the Demons from the other side of the fence you can see they have bought into their game plan and want to take the club to new heights.

It’s hard work but they are grinding their way through.

Their loss to West Coast in Perth a couple of weeks ago was frustrating to watch but in time they could become like a Hawthorn and start winning those close games.

Then there are the teams outside the eight that I’m not so sure about.

For differing reasons Collingwood, Gold Coast and Richmond belong in that category.

Jack Watts and Jeff Garlett celebrate a Demons goal. Picture: Getty Images

The Suns have obviously been injury-plagued but I query their ability to score if Tom Lynch is not firing and the depth of their list.

If they can’t hold onto Jaeger O’Meara and Dion Prestia it spells even more trouble for the Suns.

If one or both go, they will join Harley Bennell and Charlie Dixon as seriously talented players to have left in the past year.

Importantly, they do have five picks in the top 30 at this year’s draft but you cannot expect those boys to make an immediate impact. No tick for the Suns in 2016.

As for Richmond, it’s hard to make sense of Damien Hardwick’s contract extension so early in the season.

As an outsider, it seemed the entire club was delusional about where it was at. Surely it couldn’t be now.

The Tigers showed no love for their jumper against GWS and more importantly, their coach.

They say there is light at the end of the tunnel but searching for a way out of that tunnel would be a heavy burden to bear. No tick for the Tigers either.

That leaves Collingwood, a team that has been too up and down.

I believe the Magpies have underperformed and don’t have an upside as obvious as Melbourne, St Kilda and Carlton.

Then again, we haven’t heard about Nathan Buckley’s head being on the line for a while, which suggests that their recent efforts have been acceptable.

But the gap between their good and poor performances is too great. They just haven’t proved themselves capable of playing a full season, which also happened in 2014-15.

So I can’t give their season a tick either, even if there has been obvious promise in individuals such as Taylor Adams, Darcy Moore and Adam Treloar.

Originally published as Paul Chapman explains why Carlton, Melbourne and St Kilda are setting up for success